June 16, 1996
Eyes on Watchmen
Winnipeg rockers take convention
centre crowd on their own musical ride
By MIKE ROSS
Edmonton Sun
After an intense, 1 1/2-hour rock concert that saw
2,300 young party animals just lose it, Watchmen
vocalist Daniel Greaves grinned and simply said,
"thank you - the pleasure was ours."
Hard to believe, but it's true.
The Watchmen play music not for their rabid
legions of fans, but for themselves.
The self-absorbed, unashamed pleasure with which
this Winnipeg band performed their finely-crafted
songs was obvious at the Convention Centre
Friday night. The crowd just happened to be along
for the ride; you get the feeling the show would've
been just as powerful with any number of
witnesses.
A licensed cabaret was once again the site for this
year's Watchmen-induced mayhem (there's one
thing more perilous than an out-of-control mosh pit,
and that's a drunken out-of-control mosh pit). With
the crowd pumped up on more than just youthful
enthusiasm, a deafening din of cheers greeted the
band's 10:30 entrance, a response typical of, say, a
Tragically Hip concert. Greaves, who would
occasionally sip wine between songs, especially
seemed oblivious to the writhing mass of humanity
beneath him. He's clearly in love with his own
voice, a forgivable vanity since it's such a rich and
expressive instrument.
"I realize that I get into a trance and I've hardly
spoken to you at all," he said after wailing through
about six tunes in a row. "I apologize - it just means
I'm having a ball."
While the Watchmen sound nothing like the Hip,
they are cut from the same earthy cloth - a
home-grown Canadian rock band that follows no
rules but their own.
With no stage decorations or special effects
whatsoever, the band wasted no time and kicked
off the show with its current hit, Incarnate, from the
aptly-titled new album, Brand New Day. It's a
powerful song with a crunchy hook that grabs you
right away before taking one of the melodic left
turns the band is known for. The rest of the band
members delivered sensitive performances, making
it look easy going from a whisper to a roar at the
drop of a hat.
The Watchmen, again similar to the Hip, aren't
especially known for being hit-makers, but the
crowd was still electrified to hear songs like
Boneyard Tree and Lusitana, from 1994's In the
Trees album. It was amazing to hear so many
people singing along with such cryptic lyrics.
This crowd was into the Watchmen's vibe to the
hilt, demanding - and getting - two encores.
Opening act Weeping Tile didn't quite generate the
excitement of the headliner, but was given a warm
response all the same. The Kingston band delivered
a fairly grim and generic-sounding set - dull but
listenable - but thanks to some impressive vocals,
there were enough bright moments to open some
new ears to this act.